The social history of "the Platinum Triangle" in Los Angeles is told through the history of some of its biggest mansions in the new Michael Gross book "Unreal Estate."

The social history of "the Platinum Triangle" in Los Angeles is told through the history of some of its biggest mansions in the new Michael Gross book "Unreal Estate."

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Michael Gross has followed up his bestseller "740 Park" with another piece of social history about some of the most fabled mansions in Los Angeles, "Unreal Estate." The writer will be at the Wilton Library Nov. 30 to talk about the book. less

Michael Gross has followed up his bestseller "740 Park" with another piece of social history about some of the most fabled mansions in Los Angeles, "Unreal Estate." The writer will be at the Wilton Library Nov. ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Gross returns with another juicy rich and famous real estate saga

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Editor's note: Congratulations to staff writer Joe Meyers who recently was named as the 2012 Ellery Queen Award winner by the Mystery Writers of America. In a press release, the group states that the award is "given to editors or publishers who have distinguished themselves by their generous support of the genre." Meyers was singled out, as explained in the release, for his columns in this publication and his blog, where "his reviews are thoughtful and perceptive, and his criticism is constructive."

The notion of real estate as social history powered the Michael Gross best-seller "740 Park" about one of the most prestigious -- and expensive -- addresses in Manhattan.

Now, Gross is back with another book -- "Unreal Estate" (Broadway Books, $30) -- about the wide array of people who have passed through some of the biggest and best mansions in a very exclusive sliver of Los Angeles known as "the Platinum Triangle."

Subtitled "Money, Ambition and the Lust for Land in Los Angeles" the book is as juicy as it is enlightening -- Gross seems to be picking up where the late, great Dominick Dunne left off in his fascination with the ways that high life and low life come together in La La Land.

Gross is such a good storyteller that he makes the lives of Los Angeles players most readers have never heard of just as compelling as the accounts of the celebrities in "Unreal Estate."

In a recent phone interview, Gross said the new book posed a much bigger challenge than his Manhattan real estate saga.

"They are similar books, but `740 Park' was about an apartment building and I had those 31 apartments to deal with. The harder part here was deciding which houses to write about," he said.

The author made many research trips to Los Angeles before he narrowed his scope to 30 houses and then a final cut of 16.

"I spent a lot of time learning about the houses and then had to find out the chain of ownership," he added, pointing out that some wonderful homes were eliminated because they haven't passed through many hands.

"I could have done a 1,000-page book," Gross said of boiling so much history and so many personalities down to a tight page-turner less than half that size.

The Hilton family plays a big role in the book, but Gross downplays today's family members (i.e. Paris Hilton). "I had originally intended to take the Hiltons right up to the present, but then I realized the current generation is so egregiously overexposed," he said, joking that he wishes the book didn't include a passing reference to Kim Kardashian.

"Unreal Estate" shows us a much more democratic social scene than the one Gross charted in "740 Park." The boards of snooty Manhattan co-ops can keep new money, fast lane types out of their buildings -- in Los Angeles, the great mansions and the flagrant social exposure that comes with them is available to whoever can raise the cash.

"Anyone can buy a house. Exclusion does not work there, ever," the writer said.

The book shows how the early restrictions that were set in place in Beverly Hills and Bel Air -- no Jews, no movie people -- disappeared quickly as Hollywood fame became much more democratic than entering New York City society.

"I don't think that anyone ever bothered to exclude blacks," Gross said of the early integration of black Hollywood figures into wealthy enclaves.

The irony of today's market is that the prices for the biggest mansions has gotten too high for the movie people.

"Movie stars are being priced out of these communities," Gross said of the telecommunications czars, Saudi princes and TV producers who have replaced actors and actresses in many of the homes profiled in "Unreal Estate."

Michael Gross will be talking about "Unreal Estate" Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Wilton Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton. Elm Street Books of New Canaan will have copies of the book available for purchase and signing.